Africa Medical Supplies Platform launched to address COVID-19 supply shortages

APD NEWS

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The African Union (AU) on Thursday launched the Africa Medical Supplies Platform intended to address the supply shortages in the continent's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Through this platform we will address shortages and security of supply, ensure price competitiveness and transparency in procurement, reduce logistical delays, simplify payment processes and provide a common platform where governments can access services from quality and certified suppliers," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as the rotating AU Chairperson, said at an online press briefing.

He called the platform that is developed in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank "a ground-breaking innovation" and "the jewel in the crown of pan-African cooperation."

The platform is designed as a continental online portal to enable every African country to access critical medical supplies needed in combating COVID-19, said Ramaphosa.

Noting the buyer is government instead of individual, Ramaphosa said African countries will be able to directly source from manufacturers in both the necessary quantities and at competitive prices.

For example, once a vaccine is available, it will be added to this portal in line with the stated commitment by African countries to ensure equitable access to any form of lifesaving medication, Ramaphosa said.

"Resources will be secured by governments on a quota basis determined among other things by vulnerability level," he said.

African countries will have ready access to an online marketplace with the click of a button, as opposed to the onerous and time-consuming process of scouring the globe to procure medical supplies, according to Ramaphosa.

By pooling the needs of the continent, African countries manage to achieve quantities of scale and present suppliers with a large and assured market, without going through the "middle man" in supply chain processes, he said.

Moreover, African countries, with this platform, are laying another building block towards the African Continental Free Trade Area, whose launch has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, said Ramaphosa.

"The continent's response to this pandemic is testament to Africa's resilience, to our often undervalued expertise in managing public health emergencies ... to our unwavering quest for self-reliance," he said.